Designs in China: Design Patents and Beyond

How designs in China are protected

Designs in China are protected primarily as design patents under the Patent Law, administered by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). Article 2 of the Patent Law defines a design as a new design of the shape, pattern or their combination, or of colour combined with shape or pattern, of the whole or part of a product, which is aesthetically appealing and suitable for industrial application. China has no separate registered design statute and no unregistered design right of the EU kind, so design patents carry most of the weight.

The fourth amendment to the Patent Law, effective 1 June 2021, made three significant changes for design owners: the term rose from 10 to 15 years from the filing date, protection was extended to parts of products, and applicants gained a domestic priority right for designs. The revised Implementing Regulations and Patent Examination Guidelines, both effective 20 January 2024, put the partial design and related rules into operation.

In practice, protection of designs in China is a layered exercise. A design patent gives a registered right that is quick to obtain and relatively cheap. Copyright may protect works of applied art and visual elements such as icons. Three-dimensional and position marks can protect distinctive shapes. The Anti-Unfair Competition Law can address imitation of packaging, decoration and get-up that has acquired some influence. The best strategy depends on the product lifecycle and the likely copying route.

Design patent requirements and examination

Under Article 23 of the Patent Law a design must not belong to the prior design, must differ significantly from prior designs or combinations of their features, and must not conflict with prior lawful rights such as trademarks or copyright held by others. Prior art is assessed on an absolute worldwide novelty basis. A limited six-month grace period applies only to specific disclosures, such as display at certain government-sponsored or recognised exhibitions, first disclosure at specified academic meetings, or disclosure without the applicant's consent.

CNIPA grants design patents after a preliminary examination of formalities and obvious defects; it does not conduct a full substantive search. That makes grant fast, often within months, but it also means granted designs may be vulnerable. Validity is ultimately tested in invalidation proceedings before CNIPA, which any person may request after grant.

Owners should therefore treat grant as the start rather than the end of the process. Before relying on a design commercially, it is worth running an independent prior art search, keeping dated evidence of the design's creation and first disclosure, and considering whether a second, narrower filing (for example a partial design of the most distinctive feature) would survive an attack that might defeat a broad whole-product registration. Holding several overlapping registrations is a common and cost-effective way to reduce the risk that a single invalidation removes all protection.

Partial designs

A partial design protects one part of a product, such as the handle of a kettle, the grille of a car or the lens arrangement of a phone camera, regardless of the rest of the product. Applicants generally show the claimed part in solid lines and the rest of the product in dotted lines or another distinguishing method, and the title must indicate the product and the part. Partial designs are valuable where competitors copy a signature feature while changing the overall product, which previously allowed them to argue the overall impression differed.

Graphical user interfaces

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for screens and devices have been registrable since 2014, and the 2024 guidelines confirm that a GUI may be protected as a partial design of the product on which it is displayed. Applicants should identify the product and, where relevant, describe dynamic changes with a sequence of views. GUIs that are purely displayed by the operation of software in general, without being tied to a product, face more difficulty.

Common filing pitfalls

• Inconsistent views or drawings that do not show the claimed features clearly, which narrows scope or leads to rejection.
• Prior publication by the applicant itself, for example at a trade fair or on social media, outside the narrow grace period.
• Filing a single design when several variants will be marketed; China allows similar designs of the same product in one application, within limits.
• Overlooking colour: if colour is claimed, the protection is narrower.

Filing routes and timing for designs in China

Foreign applicants without a domicile or business place in China must use a licensed Chinese patent agency to file directly with CNIPA. Alternatively, since 5 May 2022, applicants can designate China in an international application under the Hague Agreement through the WIPO Hague system. The choice affects cost, control and timing.

Paris Convention priority of six months is available from a first filing in another member country. Domestic priority also allows an applicant to refile an improved design in China within six months of its first Chinese design application. Annual fees must be paid to keep the patent in force for the full 15 years; protection lapses if fees are missed beyond the grace period.

Timing is critical. Many companies launch products at international fairs or on e-commerce platforms before filing, which destroys novelty. A simple rule is to file in China, or at least in a Paris Convention country, before any public disclosure, and to file in China within six months of that first filing. For products manufactured in China for export, early Chinese filings also support customs IP protection, because design patents can be recorded with customs.

Enforcing designs in China

Because design patents are not substantively examined, the first step before enforcement is usually to obtain a patent evaluation report from CNIPA. Courts and administrative authorities may require one, and online platforms commonly ask for it before acting on takedown requests. A favourable report does not guarantee validity, but it signals that the design survives a search of prior art and strengthens the rights holder's hand.

Infringement is assessed through the eyes of an ordinary consumer of the product, comparing the overall visual impression of the accused product with the protected design, giving more weight to features that are not functional and not commonly found in prior designs. Products must be identical or similar in kind. Small differences in non-distinctive features usually do not avoid infringement, while differences in features that consumers notice may do so.

Enforcement options

• Civil litigation. Claims are heard by intermediate courts with IP jurisdiction and specialised IP courts. Remedies include injunctions, damages and costs. Under Article 71 of the Patent Law, statutory damages range from RMB 30,000 to RMB 5 million where losses and profits cannot be calculated, and courts may award one to five times the calculated amount for wilful serious infringement.
• Administrative action. Local IP offices handle patent infringement disputes and can order infringement to stop, which is useful for fast-moving consumer products.
• E-commerce takedowns. Major platforms run complaint procedures; the E-Commerce Law requires them to take necessary measures after a qualified notice.
• Customs. Recorded design patents allow customs to detain suspected infringing exports and imports.

Defences you should anticipate

Defendants typically request invalidation at CNIPA, which may lead the court to suspend the case, although courts often proceed where an evaluation report is favourable. They may also argue a prior art defence, that the accused design is identical or similar to a single prior design, or rely on prior use. The IP litigation page explains procedure and evidence in more detail.

Alternatives and combined protection for designs in China

Design patents expire, can be invalidated and only cover what was filed. Other rights can extend or reinforce protection of designs in China:

For consumer brands, a common approach is to file design patents for each new product generation, register key shapes and packaging as trade marks once they become recognisable, and keep records of creation and launch dates to support copyright and unfair competition claims. See trademarks and copyright.

Ownership, contracts and comparing markets

Disputes over designs in China often begin not with a competitor but with a business partner. Contract manufacturers, design studios and local distributors may create or adapt designs, and under the Patent Law the right to apply belongs to the creator or, for service inventions and designs made in the course of employment or mainly using an employer's resources, to the employer, unless a contract provides otherwise. Where work is commissioned from an outside studio, the right to apply belongs to the studio unless the agreement allocates it to the client.

Foreign brand owners should therefore make sure that design and development agreements assign the right to apply for patents in China, that manufacturers are prohibited from filing designs based on the brand owner's products, and that tooling, moulds and drawings remain the brand owner's property. Where a partner has already filed in its own name, options include an ownership claim in court, an invalidation request based on prior design or bad faith, and negotiation backed by those claims. Each takes time, so prevention in the contract is far more efficient.

How China compares with other key markets

The narrow Chinese grace period is the most common trap for companies used to EU or US rules. A product disclosed under the EU 12-month grace period may still be filed in Europe but may no longer be new in China. Filing plans for designs in China should therefore be driven by the earliest planned disclosure anywhere in the world, not by the European or American timetable.

E-commerce and fast-moving products

For products with short life cycles, such as consumer electronics accessories, toys and apparel hardware, speed matters more than breadth. Many brands file several design patents for each launch, covering the overall product and its most recognisable parts, and request evaluation reports immediately after grant so that takedown complaints can be lodged on major platforms as soon as copies appear. Platform data on sellers and volumes can also support later damages claims.

A worked example: a European furniture brand

A Scandinavian furniture company plans to launch a chair at a trade fair in Milan in April and sell it through a Chinese e-commerce platform from September. Its Chinese contract manufacturer will also produce for other customers. A practical plan would include:

1. File an EU design application before the fair, then designate China through the Hague system or file directly with CNIPA within six months, using Chinese-compliant views.
2. File a partial design for the distinctive backrest, which competitors are most likely to copy while changing the legs.
3. Request an evaluation report soon after grant, so that platform complaints can be filed quickly.
4. Record the design patent with customs to intercept unauthorised exports from the manufacturer's region.
5. Include design ownership, confidentiality and a ban on supplying similar products in the manufacturing contract, governed by a law and forum chosen with enforcement in mind.

If the company launches first and files later, its own fair exhibition may destroy novelty, and its main remaining protection would be copyright and unfair competition claims, which are harder to prove.

How TRW & Co helps

We help brand owners and manufacturers plan protection for designs in China as part of their global portfolios. We coordinate filing strategy across China, Hong Kong, the EU, the US and Hague designations, review manufacturing and distribution agreements governed by foreign law, and design enforcement programmes covering platforms, customs and courts. Filings with CNIPA and proceedings before Chinese courts and authorities are handled by licensed Chinese patent agencies and PRC law firms, whose work we instruct and coordinate. See also IP protection strategy in China and consumer brands and retail. Please contact us to discuss your products.